/m/bats

Reader Comments and Retorts

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.

That's some "study". Most of the conclusions are essentially assertions about improvements without any empirical evidence to back them up. Given that it should be fairly trivial to demonstrate at least the claimed performance improvements, you have to wonder why nothing along those lines is mentioned. The potential for reducing injures might be more complicated to explore.

Fractures there have sent dozens of major leaguers, including Ryan Zimmerman, Gordon Beckham, and Pablo Sandoval (twice — once on each hand), to the disabled list.

So maybe it is an injury thing? I'm only regurgitating this info, however if there have been "dozens" of major leaguers with these injuries due to the bat shape, then maybe there is something in it to be explored.

My memory of the following is not clear, because it happened maybe 20 years ago, more or less, and didn't stick around. My memory is that this type of bat has been tried, along with hammers that had that axe-style curving handle. In both cases, you got more power and more control at the same time, and there were studies that verified this, although I obviously don't remember any exact numbers or sources. When this was going on, I remembered from my one Mechanics course in college (1966), that this type of curve provided extra leverage, which would explain the extra power but not the control. The hammers had a fad, although they seem to have gone away - I don't know why, or even if they are still in use in the world of professional carpenters or somebody. I THINK that the axe handle is illegal on a bat, and that the old experiments with bats were done at the college level. But I could be way off for that. The only reason for making this post is that someone may remember more about the old fad than I do, or may find a quick source about it that I haven't found yet. Or may know something SERIOUS about the mechanics involved. - Brock Hanke

I could see it helping. When you swing there's a small gap that opens up along the bottom side of your palm when you release (i.e. running along the meat down from your pinky) that opens up because the grip isn't snug. The bat can vibrate or bash around in there and cause injury there and to the back of the hand because of it if you try to overcompensate by rolling your grip. At least it did for me. I could definitely see the leverage thing Brock brings up as well.